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Leather pouches, or leather linings?
07/02/2026
That was the name of my talk that I gave this week at a conference In Gremio - In Praxi, organised by Anna Bogumila Kowalska. The proceedings from the previous conferences from this series are part of my scientific library, and they are a rich source of information about archaeological leather and its conservation. It was a great pleasure and honor to be able to take part in person. The meeting with all the specialists in leather and textile research proceeded in very lively and friendly atmosphere and in high speed for three days. The in person talks were suplemented by several talks given online and the international discussions (the attendees were from Poland, Switzerland, The Netherlands and United kingdom). All of the talks are available now online at the YouTube channel of the National Museum in Szczecin, including the following discussions at the end of each block of talks. The link to mine is under this text.
Abstract:
Leather pouches are one of the basic clothing accessories of medieval man. Despite its apparent simplicity, it has many variations and is subject to changes in fashion and technology. This article follows the technological traces on medieval leather pouches in archaeological sources from the 13th to the 15th century. It compares Bohemian and European published pouches to originals personally examined in the Dordrecht Museum (The Netherlands). This comparison opens up the possibility of the interpretation of some leather pouches as mere linings of textile artefacts. The research includes experimental reconstructions, analysis of seams, thread impressions, and use-wear analysis. The study highlights the limitations of standardized drawings and proposes complementing them with technological cross-sections. The results aim to aid in understanding the manufacturing processes and functional aspects of medieval leather accessories.